Weblog

Kalamazoo cops can't seem to control middle-aged gang of street cruisers called the "X-train"
Three shooting deaths from their late-night drug-addled street cruising so far.
Why Michigan roads are crumbling, cratered, pothole-infested obstacle courses
We don't "invest" enough in road and infrastructure maintenance.
What is it about cyclists that can turn sane, law-abiding drivers into shrieking maniacs?
Very interesting even if it was written by a dedicated biker.

weblog

Three years of student aid and a 0.0 GPA to show for it - MLive
Political fall-guy for Governor Granholm's court packing scheme baffled by it all - Det Freep
Maybe that's why he didn't get retained by the voters perhaps? Too bad. He doesn't seem that bad.
The 1970's Oakland County Child Killer story makes news again - Det News
Amid rumors of a possible cover-up.
The real slayer of empires: Public debt - Newsweek
The 10 best low-carb fruits - Daily Apple (Mark Sisson)
Assange's rape allegations and the integrity of the left - The Nation (Katha Pollitt)
The right-wing's war on net neutrality -Daily Kos (Joan McCarter) via Slashdot
London UK police claim CCTVs solve "six crimes a day" - BBC
I'd like to know what these "six crimes a day" are before I take that claim too seriously. And pissing on the sidewalk, jaywalking, skateboarding offenses and similar shit shouldn't count, either.
"The vindictive grand jury investigation of pain-relief advocate Siobhan Reynolds" - Slate (Radly Balko)
Winterizing your bike - Wired

weblog

"Electric bicycles" are extremely popular and getting more so. - NY Times
Used to be called scooters, didn't they?
Robotic pack-mules being developed for the Army can carry 200kg in any terrain for 24 straight hours -Layer8 blog
Selective breeding of cannabis plants for a better high also makes them a health hazard for some
- Popular Science
Army to dispense with bayonet training in basic training; modern high tech soldiers don't fight that way anymore - Popular Science
OK but what happens if you run out of ammo or your rifle jams up then?
Is human knowledge likely to survive long term in digital form? - New Scientist
Data carved into stone can last a long, long time. Stuff stored on a HDD not so much.
Why some NYC parents are giving IQ tests to their four-year-olds. -iSteveblog
Steve Wozniak: Toyota accelerator problems are caused by software bugs. - Gizmodo
Patent trolls doing great: beats actually producing code. - Ars Technica

Surplus SKS rifles are cheap, rugged, dependable, plentiful.-Backwoods Home Magazine
"This handy little semi-auto is just the ticket for taking whitetails in the woods or groundhogs in the bean field—out to somewhat over 200 yards. While its 7.62 X 39 cartridge packs plenty of punch for the bigger bucks (especially with handloaded 150-grain bullets), its recoil is really pretty negligible."